1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electrical connector assemblies for connecting printed circuit boards to other electrical apparatus, and in particular, to an improved contact arrangement for such connectors.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
A typical printed circuit board includes an insulative substrate on which a plurality of electronic circuitry devices have been mounted and electrically connected by means of conductive circuit paths defined on the boards. Where it is desired that the board serve as a module or subcomponent, it is particularly advantageous to utilize an edge connector as a socket or receptacle for receiving an edge of the board and forming electrical connections between the circuit paths and other circuitry apparatus. Edge connector receptacles may take various forms. However, they generally comprise a dielectric housing fitted with a plurality of discrete metallic contacts for slidingly engaging the conductive pads of the printed circuit board.
In certain applications, it might be desireable to interconnect two or more circuit boards in a jumper configuration whereby the boards are arranged in closely spaced parallel disposition with respect to one another. Such an arrangement has gained wide acceptance in the communications and data processing fields wherein compactness is a highly desired design consideration. An edge connector receptacle which provides for such parallel board interconnection is disclosed, for example, in Rilling, U.S. Pat. No. 4,322,120, issued Mar. 30, 1982.
In general, known edge connector receptacles of the foregoing type have a relatively complicated contact and contact mounting configuration which results in attendant manufacturing and assembly expense. This complexity is, for the most part, dictated by practical requirements. For example, the connector receptacle is preferably constructed such that the printed circuit boards are both rigidly supported and reliably interconnected. Moreover, for manufacturing efficiency, the connector contacts must be easily formed and mounted in a housing with reliable retention of the contacts in the housing over numerous mating and unmating cycles with a printed circuit board.